Matching Pairs English language timelineOnline version Match the events to the times - if you are not sure, guess! by Ruth North 1 1755 2 From the 1800s 3 By 400 BC 4 1380s 5 1066 6 By 1000 AD 7 1948 8 The 20th Century 9 From 449 AD 10 From 55 BC 11 1828 12 1611 13 1476 14 From the 19th century to the 1930s 15 1977 16 From 793 AD 17 1980s onwards 18 1500 onwards 19 From the 1600s until the late 1800s 20 In the 1100s The King James Bible is published in English. Invasions of peoples from Northern Europe begin: Jutes, Angles and Saxons, speaking Germanic languages known as Anglo-Saxon. Celtic words are gradually replaced. Noah Webster’s American English dictionary is published, showing that two dialects are emerging: American English and British English. The interest in the learning of ancient Rome and Greece during the Renaissance leads to words of Latin and Greek origin entering English. Old English has developed from Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse. Literature in this language flourishes. The Romans land in Britain and soon colonise the islands. The ruling classes of Britain adopt Latin as an additional language. Some Latin place names are adopted. Viking raids begin in earnest with the sacking of monasteries in Northumberland. Over the next 250 years Old Norse elements of language become blended with Anglo-Saxon. Crusaders returning from what is now the Middle East bring back Arabic words amid the spoils of war. Words such as damask, assassin, divan and kiosk enter English. The Bible is translated into English by John Wyclif. He uses the dialect used in London, helping this to become accepted as the standard. The Industrial Revolution brings new technical and social words to English. More widespread education means that writers of popular fiction like Charles Dickens have a readership. William Caxton introduces the printing press. English continues to spread as a global language thanks to the internet and cyberspace. It becomes more common as a second language in India and parts of Africa. The Voyager spacecraft takes a message in English out beyond our solar system. Jewish, Polish and other Eastern European peoples flee persecution in Russia and Germany. Many come to England but even more cross the Atlantic to America. The technological revolution brings thousands of new words such as telephone, microchip, computer and aerospace into the language. Telecommunications, the entertainment industry and war bring American English to the world: English becomes a global language. The Empire Windrush arrives at Tilbury carrying 492 passengers from Jamaica wishing to start a new life in the United Kingdom. Dr Samuel Johnson writes and publishes his dictionary, which standardises English spelling. Celtic languages are spoken all over the islands of Britain and Ireland The Normans invade England under William the Conqueror. Norman French is established as the language of the ruling classes and Anglo-Saxon is relegated to the lower classes. After the Americas are discovered, the British Empire begins to expand throughout the world. Through commerce, war, invasion and the slave trade, words from Native American, Australian, Maori, Chinese and African languages enter English.
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